Paid parental leave: first birthday policy review

Abstract

Australia’s Paid Parental Leave scheme commenced payments on 1 January 2011. In this article we provide an overview of the scheme in its first year of operation, drawing attention in particular to one major extension of the scheme (to fathers and partners) and one ongoing limitation. We argue that while not perfect in design, the introduction of a government-funded paid parental leave scheme has shifted the policy context and policy debates in Australia: where there was no scheme prior to 2011, there is now a functioning scheme; where there was opposition to government-funded paid parental leave just a short while ago, there is now support for it from all major political parties.